Lauren Jones
Eric Overland
Tim East
Liberty University’s Athletics Department created three new leadership positions for the 2015-16 school year, all playing key roles in bolstering an already thriving NCAA Division I program.
Flames Director of Athletics Jeff Barber named Tim East as senior associate athletics director for external operations, Eric Overland as director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports, and Lauren Jones as director of sports nutrition.
East, who spent the past 20 years in Virginia Tech’s athletics department — the last eight as Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs — will oversee communications, sponsorships, tickets, fan experience, promotions, development, broadcasting, and video services. At Virginia Tech, he had direct oversight of sports marketing & promotions, athletics communications, and ticketing services, as well as the HokieSports.com website.
Overland is a certified strength and conditioning coach with the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA) and sport performance coach with United States of America Weightlifting. He comes to Liberty from Abilene (Texas) Christian University, where he was the director of strength and conditioning for the Wildcats’ 16 NCAA Division I athletics programs. He previously served as Southeast Minnesota’s director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Jones arrives at Liberty highly recommended by the top sports nutritionists in the country. Last spring, she served as a sports nutrition intern at the University of Tennessee. She also assisted members of the football team with pre-workout fueling and post-workout recovery. At Liberty, Jones will be responsible for nutrition and performance-related issues, including individual and team counseling, body composition analysis, recovery nutrition plans, and menu planning.
